Vol. 12 Ch. 5: An Heaping Helping of Advice from All Four Brothers

As Monica made her way down the corridor, trying not to attract attention, she finally reached the classroom for her elective and slumped into an empty seat.

Two male students sat down beside her. They were Elliott Howard and Benjamin Moulding, who were taking the same chess class.

"Oh, I hear it, I hear it—the Symphony of Lamentation. Sorrow and agony strike the human heart like rain, and the droplets spilling from one's eyes will flow into the sea with the rain, where, at the end of a vast journey, they will find a single answer! Oh, what did the traveler's eyes behold? The answer will be told in the final movement! ...You look like a traveler standing just before the final movement. Are you all right, Miss Norton?"

"......Um."

Elliott added, his eyes half-lidded.

"In other words, he's asking if you feel all right despite looking so gloomy."

"Such a gloomy face! A musician must condense all musicality into those words, expand the worldview, and play it! If one cannot do that, what does it mean to be a musician?"

Benjamin was halfway lost in his own world, so Monica spoke with a wry smile.

"...Um, I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine."

"I bet you're fretting over that budget meeting the other day."...